US says Iran human rights record "degenerated"

Matthew 24:9 Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and you shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake. 10 And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. 11 And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. 12 And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. 13 But he that shall endure to the end, the same shall be saved. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness to all nations; and then shall the end come.

clipped from news.yahoo.com WASHINGTON (AFP) – The United States charged Thursday that Iran's already poor human rights record had "degenerated" in 2009, particularly with a security crackdown after disputed presidential elections. The sharp criticism of Iran, contained in an annual State Department report on human rights abuses worldwide, comes as the Obama administration pushes for tougher sanctions against the Islamic Republic over its nuclear ambitions. "The government's poor human rights record degenerated during the year, particularly after the disputed June presidential elections," the State Department said. Dozens, if not scores were killed, and at least 4,000 individuals had been detained by August, it said. It also referred to the Iranian government's crackdown on new media, such as Facebook, Twitter, and other social networking sites. "The government continued to restrict freedom of religion severely, particularly against Bahais and, increasingly, Christians," it added.

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DEBKAfile - Obama finally forswears tough sanctions on Iran. Jerusalem says nothing

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• DEBKAfile - Obama finally forswears tough sanctions on Iran. Jerusalem says nothing

  "Taking advantage of the ado surrounding the failed airliner bombing and the new prominence of the al Qaeda peril, the Obama administration has finally given up its sanctions strategy for averting the rise of a nuclear-armed Iran. US secretary of state Hillary Clinton was tasked with the public announcement: "The Obama administration wants to keep the door to dialogue open with Iran," she said Jan. 4, then added a remark which let Iran off completely of the American hook: "…although the United States has avoided using the term deadline, it cannot wait indefinitely to hear form Iran." Her words explicitly backtracked on statements by other senior administration officials, including National Security Adviser James Jones, in recent interviews that Tehran's deadline for responding to international proposals expired on Dec. 31. DEBKAfile's Iranian sources report that Tehran sees Washington as so eager to reach the negotiating table that it is falling back from effective penalties step by step, including an embargo on refined oils and benzene, and even willing to forgive Iran's failure to meet a highly publicized international deadline. "Our goal is to pressure the Iranian government, particularly the Revolutionary Guards elements without contributing to the suffering of Iranians," Clinton explained. Threatening Iran's Revolutionary Guards instead of its regime is nothing but a feeble face-saver, our Iranian sources maintain, since the IRGC, whose financial operations and its management of Iran's nuclear program subsist on alternative "black market" economic mechanisms is hardly vulnerable to international sanctions."

  tags: obama, finally, debkafile, Islam, Muslim, US, News, Iran, Nuclear, Nuke

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